Multiple letter for advertising-boards, skylights, and the like.



O. B. HERRMANN. MULTIPLE LETTER FOR ADVERTISING BOARDS, SKYLIGHTS, ANDTHE LIKE.

APPLIUATIQN FILED AUG. 22. 1912.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914.

72. 6g 7n ven Zon- CARL BORRO HERB-MANN, OF HALENSEE, NEAR BERLIN,GERMANY.

MULTIPLE LETTER FOR ADVERTISING-BOARDS, SKYLIGI-ITS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914.

Applicat'i'on filed. August 22,1912. Serial No. 716,551.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CARL Bonito Hume.

MANN, engineer, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at 90Paulsbornerstrasse, Halensee, near Berlin, Germany, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Multiple Letters for Advertising-Boards, Skylights, and the like, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a multiple or socalled universal letter asused for advertising boards, sky-lights, and the like, in which, of theplurality of such letters provided, each may be transformed into anydesired other letter in order to make another word or sentence appearupon the respective board etc.

Apart from the electric skylights, in which the transformation iseffected by switching glow-lamps on or off, there are universal lettersin which the universal let ter proper, or ground-letter, which, in fact,is no letter proper at all but a combination of all existing letters, isfurnished with flap-like parts each of which corresponds, in shape, to apart of a letter proper and may be turned against and upon theground-letter, or off the same, so as thereby to cover the correspondingpart of the ground-letter and withdraw it from View, or uncover it andexpose it to View. In contradistinction to this known arrangement, Icombine the ground-letter with a number of lever-like parts, i. c.letter-parts, which, also distributed all over the round-letter aremoved parallelly to the latter and, consequently, to each other also.Those of these parts which cooperate with the same part or parts of theground-letter overlap each other, or lie over, or below, each otherrespectively, and such neighboring parts may be regarded as groups orsets which act rather similar to a diaphragm (an iris-diaphragm or thelike), as employed in connection with the lenses of photographic andother apparatus.

The ground-letter is of a certain distinct color, for instance white,and the lever-like parts, or movable letter-parts respectively, are ofanother certain distinct color, for i11- stance black, this latter colorbeing exactly the same as that of the base-board to which theground-letters are attached. Therefore, supposed, all movable parts beswung inward so as to lie over, or in front of, the ground-letters,these latter are entirely covered and thus not to be seen at all. Tomake a letter appear, that is: a letter proper, for

instance B or I or M, or to make a word appear, for instance BIM, suchand so many of the movable parts are swung outward that the thusuncovered parts of the respective ground-letter or -letters representthe desired letter or letters proper, the swung out parts being, orremaining, practically lnvisible because their color is the same as thatof the base-board; for instance black upon black. The uncovered parts ofthe ground-letters appear, however, in the other color, for instancewhite, these white parts forming in their entireness the letters or wordto be produced.

Owing to the movable letter-parts being arranged in front of theuniversal letters, and owing to their color being the same as that ofthe ground or base board, the letters, or the word or words formed bythem, may be'cha-nged not only in the evening by means of artificiallight, but it or they may be changed also in day-light.

, In order to make my invention more clear, I refer to the accompanyingdrawing in {which similar letters of reference denote similar parts,throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a representationof one of the ground-letters, the base-board being left away, Fig. 2shows that letter combined, and covered with the lever-like letterparts. 3-11 are representations in plan of the various letter-partsbelonging to one ground-letter, the-re being, however, two such parts asshown in Fig. 3, four as in Fig. 4, four as in Fig. 5, two as in Fig. 6,fouras in Fig. 7, two as in Fig. 8, one as in 9,"four as in Fig. 10, andtwo as in Fig. 11; and Fig- 12 is a. plan of a baseboard with threeletters, the parts of which have been so adjusted that the word BIM isformed.

The ground-letter (Fig. 1) is divided into parts or subdivisions I, II,III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX, and there are, besides, the separateor movable letterparts I (Fig. 3), II (Fig. 10), III (Fig. 7), IV (Fig.4), V (Fig. 8), VI (Fig. 11), VII (Fig. 6),VIII (Fig. 5) and IX (Fig.9),of which there are as many as has just been stated in the shortdescription of the figures. These parts are arranged in front of thegroundletter or universal letter, each at its proper place where itsconfiguration corresponds to, or coincides with, the configuration ofthe part of the universal letter just below it (Fig. 2).

The letter-parts in question are supported upon pivots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8 and 9, which are suitably distributed over, and at the sides of,the ground-letter, and each letter-part is provided with a counter-poisee balancing the weight of the respective part. Turning them inward (soas to cover the corresponding part of the ground-letter) may be effectedin various ways, mechanically or electrically, for instance by means ofa solenoid Z) c (Fig. 8), the core 0 of which is suspended from a cordaffixed at its upper end to an eccentric a secured to the letter-part V,or to any other of the letter-parts existing. Supposed, each letter-partbe provided with such actuating-means, the letters may be changed ortransformed by aid of an appropriate switching device throwing theelectromagnets into, and out of, circuit, just as required for theformation of the other letters, or the other word respectively.

When employing my invention for skylights, or in connection withelectric glowlamps respectively, such, for instance, as indicated by theletter f (Fig. 1) these lamps are distributed all over the straight andcurved parts of the groundletters, and they may remain'in circuit duringthe whole time of operation, the movable letter-parts serving then verymuch like diaphragms to cover, or uncover, the burning lamps, theuncovered or visible lamps representing the letters or the word desired.

Having now described my invention, what I desire to secure bya patent ofthe United States is:

1. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and thelike, the combina tion, with a base and a ground-letter, of means forilluminating said ground-letter at night-time; movable letter partsarranged in front of said ground-letter and illuminating means andadapted to be moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; the color ofthe said letter parts corresponding to that of the base, for the purposeas described.

'2. In a multiple letter for advertising Copies of this patent may beobtained for boards, sky-lights, and the like, the combination, with abase and a ground-letter, of electric incandescence lamps adapted toilluminate said ground letter; movable letter parts arranged in front ofsaid ground letter and lamps and adapted to be moved parallelly to thesaid ground-letter; substantially as described.

3. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and thelike, the combination, with a base and a ground-letter, of electricincandescence lamps arranged upon said ground-letter; movable letterparts arranged in front of said ground letter and lamps and adapted tobe moved parallelly to the said ground-letter; substantially asdescribed.

4. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and thelike, the combination, with a base and a ground-letter, of electricincandescence lamps arranged upon said groundl.etter and distributedover all parts of the same; movable parts having the contours ofletter-parts and being arranged in front of said lamps and adapted to bemoved parallelly to the said ground-letter; and means for moving thesaid letter-parts in proper succession, for the purpose as described.

5. In a multiple letter for advertising boards, sky-lights, and thelike, the combin ation, with a base and a ground-letter, of electricincandescence lamps arranged upon said ground-letter and distributedover all parts of the same; movable parts representing various parts ofletters and situated in front of said lamps and adapted to be movedparallelly to the said ground-letter and to cover or uncovercorresponding parts of the same, and means for thus operating saidparts; substantially and for the purpose as described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

CAR-L BORRO I-IERRMANN.

itnesses HENRY HAsrnR, ARTHUR SOHROEDER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington,D. C.

